Worth a Thousand Words
by CoramDeo
Summary: The entertainment options for a monster child and his human sister living in an underground prison are limited, but crayons and colored pencils can go a long way. Comic strips and drawings of superheroes battling evil can even be inspiring. Sometimes the inspiration can take an unexpected turn, however.
1. Chapter 1: The Arrival

The bedroom was not especially inviting. The absence of any windows left the room mostly in shadows, with only a single lamp in the corner to provide illumination. The rug that covered the wooden floor was worn, and the stuffed animals that sat next to the bed had the threadbare look of toys that were already old when they had arrived and had not improved with further use. The little action figures and cars that sat in a toy box on the floor were chipped and scratched and showed the signs of having been broken and mended more than once. The bed itself was a sloppy arrangement of disheveled sheets and blankets.

And yet, despite the run-down look of most of the objects in the room, something about the place still felt cozy and warm. The toys looked like they were ready to be picked up and played with, any moment now. A scruffy horse, a robot missing an arm, and a plastic ninja stood on the ground in front of a barn, waiting patiently for their adventures to continue. The lamp cast a soft light onto a desk which held a picture that was clearly a work still in progress. The right-hand desk drawer was open, revealing a collection of mismatched crayons of various colors and a few colored pencils. The small remaining nubs of the purple, black, yellow, and green crayons sitting on top of the picture were a clear sign of the artist's preferred palette. The picture itself depicted a towering figure with long floppy ears and curved horns, covered in fur, wearing a long purple and white robe and a purple cape. The creature was firing lightning bolts from its paws, though what it was confronting was not clear, since it appeared the artist had been called away before those details could be included.

The silence of the room was broken by the sound of a door creaking. Light from the hallway poured in as it opened. A young furry creature, looking very much like a smaller version of the figure in the drawing except for his different clothing and lack of horns, bounced in excitedly. "And this is my room! That's my bed, and some of my toys, and I have some books over there!" The young monster gestured excitedly as he looked back at another person slowly entering the room.

It was a human girl, roughly the same age as the boy. In stark contrast to the excitement of the monster, who was now darting around the room to show off his various possessions, the girl appeared dazed and disoriented. Her short, unkempt hair was chopped and ragged. Her pants were torn, and a faded green sweater hung on her thin frame loosely. Her crimson eyes were unfocused and did not appear to be taking in the toys that the enthusiastic child was holding up in front of her.

"Anyway, you can sleep in here! I think mom's got a sleeping bag that I can use for now, and you can have the bed! I mean… uh… if you…" For the first time, the boy appeared to notice the lack of enthusiasm in his visitor. He began to fidget with the stuffed bear he was holding. "If you _want_ to be in here. It's… it's OK if you don't. If you'd rather be in a room by yourself, I could maybe go sleep in the living room or… something."

The girl didn't reply. She still appeared to be lost in bewilderment as she looked around the room. "Um, Chara?" The girl jerked slightly, turning her attention to the boy.

"Oh… I'm sorry. Uh, yeah, I think that'll be fine. I don't think your mother and father are... are going to want me to stay for long, but... I guess this will be fine for tonight anyway. Thank you… uh… sorry, was it 'Uzreel?'"

"Asriel!" said the monster brightly. "That's great, Chara! I'll go tell mom and dad. We're going to have so much fun together!" He took a step towards the girl with his arms opened wide, but she flinched and pulled back against the wall. The boy's smile faltered, and he dropped his arms. "Oh, right, sorry – mom told me that you might still be a little scared and I shouldn't do that. I'm sorry!"

The girl said nothing, but gave a small nod. "Ok, well, I'll go look for the sleeping bag and be back in a bit!" The boy darted out of the room. Only then did the girl exhale and begin to relax. Slowly she picked her way around the room, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the action figures on the floor, looking at the items on the shelves, then finally reaching the desk where she noticed the drawing. She picked it up and stared at it for a few moments. Then she replaced it on the desk, put the crayons back on top of it, and turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2: The Hero

Asriel sat alone at his desk in the room, crayon in hand, hunched over his drawing. The previous illustration had joined a small group of others that were taped to the wall over the desk and bed, each depicting the large goat-like monster in some heroic situation. In one, a group of small people fled from the towering figure who was shooting star-like projectiles at them. Another showed the monster at the forefront of an army, swinging giant swords to smash the catapults of the enemy army in front of him. The most recent one depicted him with a massive set of iridescent wings, flying above a group of houses as tiny figures below pointed upwards at him.

The center drawer in the desk contained other pictures that hadn't made it to the wall. Some were full-page crayon drawings. Others were in the form of a comic strip, with hand-drawn panels telling a story. Almost all of them depicted the purple-robed figure in some adventure or another.

There was a soft knock at the door. The boy jumped up and hurried over to open it.

"Hi, Chara! You don't have to knock – this is your room too!"

"Um… all right. It still doesn't feel quite right though," came the reply.

It had been a little over a week since her arrival, and her presence had not made much of an impact on the room. The rolled-up sleeping bag in the corner was a new addition, and the fact that the bed was neatly made gave evidence that the boy was no longer using it. That particular arrangement had not come about easily. Asriel and both of his parents had insisted that Chara should have the bed, but the girl had been adamant that it wasn't fair that she should take it, and that the sleeping bag would be fine for her, and really, she was used to much worse. But the young monster had deployed his greatest weapon – a crestfallen face and eyes brimming with tears – until Chara had at last relented and accepted the offer of the bed. Now she stepped over to it, placed a stack of clothes on top of the comforter, then turned to the desk.

"What are you doing, Asriel?"

"Oh!" The boy turned in his chair and gestured excitedly to the girl. "Come and see!"

She stepped over to the desk to look at the half-completed drawing the boy was working on.

"This is a picture of a monster who has super magic powers! Most of the time he's just a regular monster boy whose name is Togore, who lives with his mom and dad in a castle. They don't know that he's secretly a super monster! But when bad guys come and try to fight his family or his friends, he turns into a cool giant monster named Aerizel who is indestructible and has more power than anybody! Look, I've drawn some of the cool things he can do!" He pointed to the pictures hanging on the wall. "And in here," he said, opening the center drawer of the desk and pulling out a handful of papers "I've got some of the other pictures and stories I've made about him! You can look at them if you want!"

Chara took all this in with a sardonic look on her face. A bit of the light dimmed in Asriel's eyes, and he lowered the stack of drawings he was holding out.

"Well... what do you think? Do you like it?"

"Oh, it's fine I guess, if you like that sort of thing," she said dismissively. "It's just so unrealistic, though".

Asriel slowly laid the drawings on the desk. "Y-yeah, I know invincible monsters don't really exist, and that a boy can't just turn into-"

"That's not what I meant," interrupted Chara. "I mean it's unrealistic to imagine that some nice, powerful person will come rescue you when you're in trouble. That's not how it works in real life." Her voice sounded a little strained. "In the real world, when bad things happen to you, you have to take care of yourself. There's no superhero who's going to hear you crying and come save you."

Asriel's face fell, and his lower lip began to quiver a bit. "I know. I… I just like making stories about how… how a super monster helps everyone. And stops the bad guys. Or fights against the humans and is able to beat..."

With a gasp, his eyes widened, and his paws flew up to his mouth. "Oh! Oh, no, I... I'm sorry, Chara! I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean that he would fight against all humans! I just meant the bad humans! He wouldn't hurt the good ones like... like you, or like, um... like..."

Chara gave a snort and turned to walk towards the door. "Oh, don't worry about that. If nothing else, you've got _that_ part of your story right. You can have your super monster fight all of them." She turned at the doorway and fixed her red eyes on him. "Because there aren't any good humans, Asriel." And then she was gone.

The boy was left staring at the doorway, a bewildered expression on his face. Slowly he turned back towards the desk and replaced the sheaf of drawings in the center drawer. He closed it but made no move to pick up his crayons or pencils. He just sat there, staring down at his drawing.


	3. Chapter 3: Breaking Down Barriers

The two months that had passed had brought a number of changes to the room. Instead of a sleeping bag, a second bed now occupied the left side of the room. A new collection of clothes was hanging in the wardrobe, and a small dresser had been added. More drawings of Aerizel had been taped near the desk, while a more delicate drawing of a flower hung near the new bed. Another chair had been brought into the room, though it was too large to slide under the desk next to the chair currently occupied by Asriel. The child, working on a multi-panel comic strip, was so intent on his work that he didn't hear the soft footsteps that entered the room and approached the desk.

"What, _this_ again, Asriel?"

The boy yelped and instinctively hunched over his drawing, covering it with his arms, as he turned to look at the girl who had entered the room. "Oh! Chara! I didn't hear you come in. Um… hi!"

Chara just tilted her head, a faint look of disdain on her face. Asriel's face reddened.

"Um… yeah. I was just working on another comic strip."

"Yes, I can see that. Another story with your super monster?"

"Y-yeah. In this one, uh," the boy tentatively uncovered the comic strip, "Aerizel is in New Town, 'cause that's where he lives and... oh! Oh!" His chagrin melted away as a light came into his eyes. "There's a new person in this story! I've named her Ky-Ra!"

The girl blinked at him. "Her name is _Ky-Ra?_" She studied his face for any sign of mockery, or even a wink and knowing nod, but saw no sign of it. Just earnest enthusiasm.

"Yeah! She's a girl! And she's a human, too! She's the only human who lives in the Caverns!"

Chara appeared to be trying to hold an incredulous smile off her face. "Ok – a human girl named Ky-Ra. Well, Asriel!" She held up her hands with false sincerity. "You might as well tell me all about it." She pulled the second chair from the corner of the room over to the desk. "What are the Caverns?"

"Oh, have I never told you? Sorry! So, the Caverns are where Togore (that's Aerizel when he's a boy, remember?) lives with his parents and all the other monsters. It's a giant underground kingdom. And Togore's mom and dad are the king and queen. So, they rule the kingdom and Togore-"

"What do they do? The king and queen, I mean," the girl interrupted.

"Well... um..." He thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure. They just _rule_ everyone, I guess. They have a castle, and servants, and knights and guards, and they make sure that everyone is happy and doing what they're supposed to, and that if anyone breaks the law they go to jail. And Togore is their son, and they make him do schoolwork and chores and stuff like that, but they don't know he's secretly Aerizel! And he helps to fight bad guys!"

"And humans too?" Chara asked with a sidelong glance.

Asriel reddened and hunched down a little. "Well... no, um, because it turns out there are no humans in the Caverns, so he doesn't really know that much about them, and... and there aren't any that he needs to fight." He trailed off into an awkward silence for a few seconds. Suddenly he perked back up. "Oh! But Ky-Ra lives in the Caverns too! And even though she's not a monster, she lives with the monsters and makes friends with them!"

"Huh. Well, I guess that's good for her." Despite her aloofness, Chara now appeared to be ever-so-slightly interested. "And do the monsters... like Ky-Ra?"

"Yeah! They think she's great! She's cool and can do lots of neat things, and the good monsters are happy she's there!"

"That... sounds nice."

"Well, so, anyway, I'm drawing Aerizel with wings right now, because he needs to fly all the way from the castle to Waterland, which is a long way away. But he can turn into the Absolute God of Hyperdeath, which gives him wings and fire breath and-"

"The what? _Hyperdeath_? Does he actually kill people?"

"Um... well... um..." This appeared to be a new thought to the creator. He sat for a moment, tapping his colored pencil against his furry muzzle. "No – he doesn't actually kill anyone. It's more just a scary name to make him sound cooler, and to make the bad guys afraid of him. Like, he won't _actually_ kill them, but they might think that he will, and then they'll stop doing crimes."

Chara furrowed her brow at him. "Okaaaaay…"

"Anyway, so, Aerizel is the Absolute God of Hyperdeath, and he flies to Waterland with Ky-Ra. And when they get-"

"How does Ky-Ra get there?"

The boy stopped again, flummoxed. "She…um…." Then, inspiration struck. "She flies! She can fly!"

An amused smile was playing on the girl's lips. "Oh, is Ky-Ra a superhero too?"

"Well, not exactly, but since she's a human, she's got super strength! She's stronger than any of the other monsters except for Aerizel. And Chara can beat up the bad monsters with just a few punches! And she can fly, too."

The girl appeared to be trying very hard not to laugh at the sudden change in the heroine's name, which had gone unnoticed by the excited narrator. "Sounds like she's a superhero to me." She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, a patronizing smile still on her face. "So, what's going on in Waterland?"

"That's where Aerizel and Ky-Ra have a secret base! They have bases all over the Caverns, but the one in Waterland is the most important one because it's in the middle of the kingdom. It's full of magic equipment and sensors and devices that let them see what's happening everywhere in the Caverns. So, they fly there and land outside the base, which you can only get to through a hidden door. You have to solve a puzzle to get in, and only Aerizel and Ky-Ra know the solution because it's so hard. So, Aerizel asks his sister to open the door because she's faster at the puzzle, and meanwhile he starts-"

_"__What did you say?_"

The girl's eyes were wide open. Her arms had dropped to her lap, and she sat frozen in her chair, staring at the monster child. All traces of wry amusement and indifference had vanished.

The boy was taken aback. "Um... I said that Aerizel asked Ky-Ra to open the door to the base, and that while she did that-"

"No, no… d-did you say that Ky-Ra was Aerizel's _sister?_"

"Oh, right! I forgot to mention that earlier. Yeah, she's his sister."

"But," the girl sounded somewhat dazed. "But... Ky-Ra doesn't have any family. Her p-parents are gone, and s-she doesn't have any brothers or sisters."

The boy didn't appear to notice this new addition to Ky-Ra's backstory as he enthusiastically shook his head. "Yeah, but she's been adopted by Aerizel's mom and dad! Now she's a princess-oh!" The boy bounced in his seat. "Togore is a prince, did I mention that? Anyway, she lives in the castle and she and Aerizel play together and do all kinds of cool things! And now she and he are going to their secret base, where they keep all their best magic devices. So, Ky-Ra solves the puzzle and the hidden door in the rock swings open, and she and Aerizel go in and..."

The boy continued chattering happily about the adventure without noticing that the girl was no longer paying attention. She sat quiet and motionless in the chair, her eyes distant and unfocused, mouth slightly open. For several minutes she remained there, staring at nothing, not even noticing when her cheeks grew wet.

"-you ok? Um... Chara?"

The girl jerked suddenly as she felt a soft paw touching her arm. The boy's eyes were a mix of concern and distress. "Chara, why are you crying? Is something wrong? Do… do you not like my story?"

The girl sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, her eyes fixed on the young monster. Suddenly she reached over and enveloped him in a hug, ignoring his surprised bleat.

"No! No, Asriel! I love your story! I think it's perfect! I'm not really crying. I just think it's… it's really sweet."

The relief chased away the uncertainty in the boy's eyes. "Oh! Oh, thanks Chara!" He stretched out his own arms to wrap them around the girl. "I'm glad you like it! What's your favorite part?"

A small smile began to spread on the girl's face, this time with no trace of mockery. "I think any of the things that Aerizel and his sister do are going to be great," she said with a squeeze.

"Yeah, me too! I'm really glad Ky-Ra's in the story now!"

The two of them released each other, and the boy's excitement began to bubble up again. "Once this comic strip is done, I have another idea! Chara and Togore will decide to open a store in New Town that gives free toys to monsters who can't afford them, and then when bad guys try to steal..."

The monster child continued narrating his new idea, blissfully ignorant of the ever-changing name of the human in his story. The girl in the chair opposite never corrected him. She just continued to listen and smile.


	4. Chapter 4: Breaking Down Other Barriers

Chara sat on her bed, watching Asriel as he positioned another drawing on the wall. A line of pictures now filled a significant portion of his half of the room, and their progression showed both improving talent and a continuing series of adventures. Chara had both natural artistry and the ability to think and plan ahead, which made her an excellent collaborator with Asriel, who was a bottomless well of ideas. Together, their drawings and comics about what Aerizel, now joined by Ky-Ra, would do in the Caverns were beginning to fill the center desk drawer entirely. Over many months, the two of them illustrated the things that "bad guys" would do (now with actual motivations and foresight to their plans, thanks to Chara), only to have the prince and princess of monsters stop them in new and spectacular ways. Asriel's ideas were exciting but not fully formed; Chara enjoyed helping him see them through to their conclusion, then figure out what needed to happen to get there.

She looked down as she fidgeted with a golden locket that hung from a delicate chain around her neck, one of matching pair that had been a gift from Asriel many months earlier. Chara had been working on another story of her own. It wasn't an original story; she had heard many variations of it recently. None of them ever ended well. But Chara's story was going to be different. It needed collaboration, though, to reach a satisfactory conclusion. So it was time to enlist Asriel's help – to tell him the story and help him see what would be needed to get to the happy ending.

And the prospect terrified her.

"Hey Chara, does this look straight?"

"Huh?" Her eyes drifted back up. "Oh – yeah, I think that looks pretty good."

"Ok! Could you pass me some tape while I hold it here?"

Chara walked over to the desk and began tearing off pieces of tape to hand to Asriel. He held the picture against the wall with one paw while he began taping up the corners.

"Hey, uh, Ree… do you remember the idea we had about having Aerizel blast a hole in some other part of the Cavern walls away from the force field, so the monsters could escape that way?"

"Oh yeah! I asked da… I mean-" The picture being held by the boy tilted under a slight twitch of his paw, and he carefully straightened it out again. "Um, it turns out that the force field goes all around the Caverns like a huge ball. You can see a little part of it behind the castle, but it's really everywhere, and no matter which direction Aerizel blasts the cave walls, you'd still run into it."

Chara already knew that. She had asked Toriel a very similar question several weeks earlier. But this was the opening she needed. She took a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking in the slightest. _The house. Think about the house. _A warm picture filled her mind, and she brought herself under control.

"So… I have another idea maybe we could use. If a monster had the power of a human soul, he'd be able to walk through the force field, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Asriel was taping down the last corner of the picture. "But nobody can get a human soul, because all the humans live outside the force field."

"All the humans except for Ky-Ra".

There was a tearing sound. The picture had ripped away from the wall at the corner, under a paw that had suddenly slipped heavily. Asriel turned around, his eyes wide open.

"_What?_"

"I mean, Ky-Ra is a human, and she's there in the Caverns, right?"

"B-but nobody's going to take Ky-Ra's soul!" Asriel's lower lip began to quiver. "She's the royal princess! A-and besides, all the monsters love her because she helps them, and she fights the bad guys! And-" A flash appeared in the boy's eyes. "And her brother is _Aerizel_, the Absolute God of Hyperdeath!" His voice become shaky as he got more agitated. "He would use all his power to protect her! Nobody would _dare_ try to take Ky-Ra's soul from her, because he would never, _ever_ let them!"

Chara forced herself to stay calm. This had been the most roundabout way she could think to introduce her idea to the monster prince, and it was still in danger of going badly wrong. Any second now, the fire in his eyes would give way to tears, and the plan would fail. She might not get a second chance at this. She raised both hands, palms towards Asriel.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that, Ree! Nobody's going to attack Ky-Ra and steal her soul or anything like that. That's not what I was talking about."

The boy's face softened a bit, but there was still a clear trace of worry in his eyes. With a small gasp he suddenly noticed the damage he had done to his picture.

"Here, Ree, sorry", Chara said as she handed him another piece of tape.

Asriel carefully began to tape the torn pieces of the picture back together. "So, if Ky-Ra isn't going to lose her soul, why did you bring it up in the first place?" he sulked.

Another deep breath. _Come on, Chara, you can still make this work._

"Well, I had a different idea. Let's say Aerizel _did_ get to the surface. Once he was there, he could go find some human souls that he could use to blow up the force field entirely. There are tons of bad guys on the surface, and Aerizel could-"

_No, Chara! He's not going to go for that._

"…I mean, maybe he could find some humans who were really old and would be willing to let him have their souls when they died. Once he showed them how nice monsters are, and how unfair it is that they're trapped, I'm sure he find some humans willing to help him."

Asriel's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Well... I guess? But how would he get to the surface in the first place?"

_Careful, Chara, careful._

"Well, what if Ky-Ra and Aerizel worked together using their combined power to go through the force field? It would be a monster and a human together, so it ought to work."

"But... how would they do that?"

_Careful!_

"Well, Ky-Ra could let Aerizel use her soul. He could absorb it, and then he'd be able to go through the force field. Once he does that, he could go find six more-"

"**_NO!_**_"_

Chara blinked and stopped. The shock and horror on Asriel's face was evident, and his eyes were beginning to glisten.

"NO! That's a terrible idea! Aerizel would never take Ky-Ra's soul! She's my sister, and I love her, and if I took her soul, she would die! I would never, _ever_ do that!" His tears were beginning to fall freely, and the story and reality were becoming dangerously intertwined. Chara knew that her plan was on the verge of falling apart.

But she had one last card to play. She had desperately hoped that she wouldn't have to do this to the gentle, trusting boy she had grown to love and think of as her brother over many months. But it was for his own good. It was the only way to give him the happy ending he deserved. As Asriel raised his arm to wipe his face with his sleeve, Chara closed her eyes briefly.

_A cozy two-story house sat on a large, grassy lawn. The lawn was well-kept, and bushes and beds of flowers lined the front of the house. A swing set was in the back, along with a sandbox and a large trampoline. Standing on the back porch were two adult monsters - a towering male figure with his arm around the shoulder of a smaller, purple-robed woman. They both smiled as they watched a young monster in blue jeans and a green-and-yellow shirt laughing and running around the yard, his arms spread out wide, pure delight on his face. There were no fences around the yard. There was nothing but miles of open grass and inviting woods all around them, waiting to be explored, expanding out under a blue sky with soft clouds and warm, bright sunshine. Everyone was happy. Everyone was so happy. _

The vision filled her with determination. _She would make it come true_.

"But wait, Ree, there's something else! Something you don't know about Ky-Ra's soul!"

The sniffling continued, but Asriel worriedly peered at his sister over his arm. "What is it?"

"You know how when monsters die and lose their souls, their bodies turn to dust? Well, did you know that human bodies don't turn to dust when they die?"

Asriel's expression didn't change. "Yeah, I've heard dad say that," he tentatively said.

"Well, there's a reason for that!" Chara said, as brightly as she could manage. "There's something you can do with human souls that you can't do with monster souls."

His voice was still quavering. "I already know human souls don't fall apart and that monsters can absorb them. Dad told me that too."

"Yes, but that's not all. Because human bodies don't fall apart when they lose their soul, there's something special that only a monster with a human soul can do."

Asriel lowered his arm. His anxiety was still clearly present, but there was now interest in his face. "Really? What is it?"

_Oh Ree, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Please forgive me for this._

"Well, it turns out..."


	5. Chapter 5: We'll Save Everyone,Won't We?

It was late in the evening. Although there was never any change to the luminescent glow of the sparkling stones in the cave roof nor the distant glow of lava, Chara could tell from her weariness that another day was coming to a close. Though to be honest, there had been a great deal of weariness over the last few days. Or was it just the heavy feeling in her heart, which refused to accept the rational thoughts her brain was sending to it? Either way, the weariness and heartache would be gone very soon now.

She sat alone at the desk, writing out the last few words of a letter. Although it wasn't lengthy, the letter had taken her hours to write over the course of many days. Chara knew that Asriel would never look in her desk drawers, for the simple reason that she had asked him not to. When it came to Asriel, his conscience was as good as a padlock to keep him out. So she was quite sure that the contents of her letter had remained private. Still, she instinctively hunched over it protectively each time she heard the sound of someone moving past the closed bedroom door.

Finally, it was done. She laid down her pencil and picked the sheet up. She had already read the letter, over and over, each time adding a little more. All that was left to do now was check it one last time.

_Dear Asriel,_

_You were always so good at keeping the promises you made, so I know that by the time you read this, you will have made all the hopes and dreams of your people come true. You will have gotten the human souls and broken the barrier. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. Ever since I came into the Underground, the one thing I've wanted more than anything is for you to have the freedom that you deserve. I wish I could have been there to see it._

_But by now, you also know the truth about me and my soul. It's possible your father told you, but I imagine you discovered it yourself once you got to the village. And it's very likely that you hate me now because of what I told you. I don't blame you for that one bit. I wanted to write this letter to at least try to explain why I said what I did._

_You've realized by now that monsters cannot heal human bodies and put their souls back in. I was not being truthful when I told you that. I knew that when I gave you my soul it was going to be a one-way trip for me, and that I wouldn't be coming back. I am so, so sorry Ree. Do you hate me now? Because I hate myself. It's the worst thing I have ever done to you._

_But Ree, can you see that this was the only way that you and your mother and father and all the monsters could have a happy ending? All your hopes and dreams of leaving this underground prison, of getting to the surface, of seeing the sun and feeling the wind and running free – there was no way you could do it without my soul. And there was nobody I could trust with my soul besides you, Ree. All those stories we made up, all those plans we talked about – I knew that if anyone could find a way to get the human souls we needed to break the barrier and set everyone free, it would be you._

_But I also knew you would never let me give you my soul if you knew I was going to die. That's why I had to tell the lie, Ree. I tried and tried to think of another way, but I couldn't. So, I told you the only thing I could think of that would make you willing to take my soul, so you could save everyone._

_And Ree, it's OK if you hate me now. I know this will hurt you for a while because you're so sweet, but you will be better off without me. You were always a good brother, but I was never a very good sister. And now you'll have lots of friends on the surface, and you and Toriel and Asgore will be able to find a nice place to live, and show humans that monsters are not evil or dangerous. And just thinking about you being happy on the surface makes me happy. It makes everything I'm doing worth it. _

_So please, just think of me as someone who was your friend for a little while, who wanted you to be happy and free, and was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. And now, go and make some new friends and enjoy your life on the surface._

_But there's one last thing, Ree. I believe if anyone can convince humans that monsters are not dangerous, it is you. But __**please**__ remember what I told you about humans. You cannot trust anything that humans say or do. Even if monsters and humans can learn to live together, humans are not trustworthy. They will make promises and then break them when it suits them. They will say one thing and do another. Every human does it. Even I did it, Ree. So, if you're mad at me, let that remind you to never, ever completely trust humans._

_Please take care of your mother and father for me. I wish I could be with you, but now that you have my soul inside you, there's a part of me that will stay with you. And that's good enough for me._

_I love you, Ree._

With a heavy sigh, Chara put the letter on the desk and signed it. Then, pulling an envelope out of the drawer, she folded the letter into it, licked the flap, and sealed it shut.

There was a soft, tentative knock at the door. Chara flinched instinctively, but there was now no longer anything to be secretive about.

"Come in, Ree".

Asriel came in, a look of worry on his face. "Hi, Chara. I think I found enough flowers. I left them outside so … you know… mom and dad wouldn't…"

Chara smiled sadly. Asriel was not well-suited for cloak-and-dagger activities at all. She really hadn't expected him to be willing to help with this part of the plan, but he had surprised her with his willingness. After all, she thought grimly, as far as he knew, this was just an exciting adventure for the two of them. Guilt stabbed at Chara's heart as she looked at the young monster who was so earnestly, so willingly helping her die without knowing it. She forced the feelings down. _The happy ending is coming_.

"Ok, good. I'll make sure they're not watching, then sneak the flowers into our room. And remember, you've _promised_ not to tell your mother and father about this until y… until we come back. When we break the barrier, it will be the best surprise ever."

"Yeah! I haven't said anything to anyone!", Asriel said enthusiastically.

"Shhh!" Chara hissed.

Asriel blanched and backed over to the door to close it quietly. He went and sat down on his bed.

"Ok, so, let me make sure I remember everything. Once I absorb your soul, I'm going to carry your body out through the barrier and down to the village, then I'll heal your body and put your soul back in, and then we'll start asking the people in the village if we can borrow their souls for a little while?

_Oh, Asriel!_

"Yeah, that's right!" A tight smile. False enthusiasm. "Although if they don't want to let you, um, borrow their souls, you might be able do the other thing, where you see if there any humans who are old and-" Chara's hands restlessly sought each other. "You know, who are about to lose their souls anyway – you could see if they would just let you use them. Even just long enough to break the barrier."

She hurried on before he had a chance to think about it too long.

"And, uh, Asriel, if you need to use my soul power inside you for a little longer once we get to the village, that's fine too."

A faint look of confusion crossed the boy's face. "Uh... Ok? But I won't need to do that. As soon as I get there, I'm going to heal all the flower poison left in your body, and then I'll put your soul back in. I hope it won't take too long. I'm not as good a healer as mom or dad, ha ha." The boy laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck with his paw. "And, um, Chara... I know you said it's not going to hurt, but are you sure? With the flowers, I mean?"

"No, Ree, it'll be fine!" _The lies were getting easier now. _"The flowers hurt your dad because he's a monster and not used to physical things in his stomach, but it won't hurt me because I'm a human and I'm used to real food. Well..." _Can't have him freaking out._ "It may hurt just a tiny bit, but not very much. And then I'll just sort of fall asleep, and you can get my soul."

The worry didn't leave Asriel's face, but this was the final reassurance he needed. "Ok... I guess that will be all right then. I wish it wouldn't hurt you at all! But… you promise it's not going to be very bad?"

Chara nodded.

"Ok," he said unhappily.

_Just one thing left. _"Oh, and Ree, I have something for you," Chara said as she held up the envelope. "This is a secret message for you to read. But!" she pulled the letter back, as Asriel tentatively reached out. "You can't read it yet. You'll have to wait until after you break the barrier. And since it's a secret just for you, I'm going to put it where nobody else will find it. See my drawer here? I'll tape it to the underside, and you can get it once you get back." With a couple of pieces of tape, Chara deftly attached the letter underneath the drawer and slid it closed.

Asriel looked puzzled. "But, Chara… after we break the barrier and get back home, why don't you just give me the letter then?"

"Um..." Chara thought fast. "Well, yeah, I will, but just in case I forget, I'm telling you now where I'm putting it so you can find it later."

The thin explanation did not remove the puzzled look from the boy's face. Chara hurried on before he could ask anything further.

"Ok, are you ready? Let's make sure your mom and dad aren't watching the front door, and then I'll bring the flowers inside."

Asriel's unhappiness had returned. "Boy, I'll sure be glad when all of this is over. Or at least when we get to the village and I can put your soul back in you! The part of the plan where I'm going to be by myself is the worst part."

"Yes, I know it's all a little scary. But don't forget the end of the story, Ree. The barrier is going to be broken in just a day or two! Won't that be great? You're going to be free!"

A bit of excitement appeared on the boy's face. "Yeah! I can't wait, Chara! We're both going to be free! We'll all be free!"

_Don't cry don't cry don't cry._

"We sure will be, Ree."


	6. Chapter 6: The Sacrifice

The bedroom was almost completely dark. The lamp's feeble light was no match for the shadows that had fallen heavily on the room. The door was open, leading to a dark, empty hallway. A half-completed picture lay on the desk.

The lamp weakly illuminated a boy by the far wall. He was kneeling down beside one of the beds, his head bowed, his floppy ears covering his eyes. His body shook with quiet sobbing. Tucked into the bed before him, lying peacefully, was the figure of a girl. Her hands rested on the comforter that was pulled up around her. Her eyes were closed. There was no trace of the pain that had been in her face hours earlier. She lay very, very still.

The boy's quiet sobs and ragged breathing continued for several minutes. He placed his paw gently against the girl's cheek, which only caused his sobbing to grow louder. The tears ran down his fur and fell onto the comforter. Broken words came out between hitched breaths.

"T-they've gone now, Chara. I t-told them I wanted to be alone with you. I don't think they'll be back for a while. We should have time now." There was another set of ragged breaths. "And I did it, Chara. Just like I promised you, I never said anything. Not even when mom and dad were cr-crying so hard. Not even when they were trying to hea- to heal-"

A short, anguished cry came out of the boy's throat.

"Oh Chara… I don't like this plan anymore! I… I don't think you were telling me the truth about the flowers. You said they weren't going to hurt you very much. But they _did_ hurt you! I could tell they were hurting you so mu-muuch-"

The boy dropped his head to the blanket and wailed. For a while, there was nothing but his full-throated cries and tears, his paw still stroking the cheek and hair of the motionless girl. After a long time, he seemed to pull himself back together.

"B-but, I still trust you Chara. I would never doubt you! And I know you said we'd have to get through the worst part first, and then it would all get better. So I'm ready. You and I are going to go through the barrier, and I'm going to get to the village as quick as I can so I can heal you! I w-want you back, Chara!"

Sniffing hard, the boy turned to look at the desk for a moment, then flashed a watery smile at the figure on the bed. "I even started a picture of what we're going to do! I drew the first part, but I… I want you to finish it. It'll be the best story we've ever done together." His tears were falling freely again. "So once everyone's free and we're on the surface, you draw the last part, and we'll get a frame for it, and show it to mom and dad. And then we'll hang it up in our new house, OK? We'll do it together!"

Gently, he placed his paws over the girl's hands that rested on the blanket. A soft, pulsing red light began to shine underneath the comforter.

"Here we go, Chara. I'll s-see you soon!"

The red light began to intensify and rise upwards. As it did, a shadow seemed to enshroud the entire bed. The red light was pulled up into the darkness, which began to grow and distort and form itself into a grotesque shape. The lamp could not illuminate distinct features on the shadowy creature, except for two huge arms that reached down to envelope the child lying in the bed. Pulling her free from the covers, the dark towering figure turned and carried the limp body out the room.

* * *

The half-drawn picture rests on the desk. On the left side of the drawing, tiny houses and buildings lie in the background. The familiar stalactites of the Caverns hang from the ceiling. The foreground is filled with small monsters, arms raised in celebration. The towering purple-robed monster is firing a blast of energy from his paws, aiming at something in front of him that is white and shimmering, but indistinct and lacking detail. The rest of the sheet is empty.

The pencils and crayons neatly arranged beside the paper serve as a token of the promise given by the girl to the boy. It's just a matter of days now, or even hours, and the happy ending will come at last, and the greatest adventure ever drawn by the young monster boy and human girl will reach its joyful conclusion. The brother and sister are going to free everyone together.

It won't be long now.


	7. Chapter 7: Fallen

The room is cold and silent. The door is closed, and the lamp sits unused in the corner. The thin, faint light that leaks from under the door barely illuminates the two beds in the room, soft and immaculately made, now abandoned. The stuffed animals next to the bed on the right lie where they were placed long ago, their button eyes staring at nothing. A soft bear reaches out his arms to a child no longer there to pick him up. The toys in the box at the foot of the bed are covered in cobwebs and a layer of dust. Books of adventure and history and legends no longer provide excitement to anyone. The coziness and cheer and joy that once filled the room has long since drained away.

The pictures of the heroic monster no longer decorate the walls. Pieces of tape still mark the places where they were ripped away. It has been an immeasurably long time since the soft, hesitating figure of a monster woman entered the room. She had come alone that day, and it was clear she was grieving deeply as she set about lovingly, reverently cleaning the room. The beds had been made, the clothes picked up, the toys and books returned to their proper places. It was then that she had discovered the abandoned, half-completed picture on the desk. And after she had stared at it for two full minutes, the picture suddenly adding an explanation for an inexplicable tragedy days before, she had collapsed into the chair and had wept and wept and wept. For several minutes she had sat there convulsing, her head bowed on the desk and buried in her arms. And when she could weep no more, she had pulled open the center drawer, shoved the picture into it, and then with sudden frenzy had risen and pulled every other drawing off the wall to stuff them into the drawer as well. Only the delicate drawing of a flower on the left side of the room had been spared.

That had been a long time ago. The woman had left, never to return. The room remained sealed, a deserted shrine to the two children who had filled it with energy and excitement. It had received only one other visitor, when a towering father had entered, also overcome with emotion. He had come only to place his own relics within the shrine – two memorials for his lost children. For reasons he could not understand himself, he had placed the mementos in wrapped, brightly-colored boxes, as if his children would be scampering into the room very soon to find the gifts he had left them. A dull dagger, repurposed and used deftly by a girl who had taken an unexpected delight in gardening. And one of a pair of lockets, given by a brother to express his love for his sister. The father had placed the boxes on the floor, bowed his head, and wept softly, before finally turning slowly and leaving, sealing the room once again.

And now the bedroom sits silent and wrapped in shadows. Days and weeks pass, but the room remains dark, unused, unchanging, and filled with memories that slowly fade.


	8. Chapter 8: Eucatastrophe

No record of history can ever be comprehensive. For every legend collected, for every story told, there are a hundred that are unobserved and unchronicled. Even the most cataclysmic events may be lost to history if there is no one present to preserve the memory. So it was that the catastrophe that befell Aerizel was not recorded. There was no delicate hand or soft paw to illustrate how the hero, in order to rescue his people, brought the body of his sister Ky-Ra out of the Caverns, only to encounter a foe that he had never faced before, who rose up in violence born of a colossal misunderstanding. No manuscript in the abandoned desk drawer depicted Aerizel's supreme restraint in sparing those he had the power to destroy, who had acted out of fear and mistrust rather than evil. And while the broken, whispered words of a dying prince eventually became known to all the monsters in the Underground kingdom, the story of the wounded monster hero who stumbled back to the Caverns, who collapsed with the body of his sister as his frantic parents desperately attempted to save him, who ultimately fell and was swallowed up by the darkness of the Caverns forever – that story would never be told.

And perhaps it wasn't surprising that, many years later, there was also no one to record the beginning of the great and unexpected eucatastrophe that would once again intertwine the history of the Underground and the Caverns. No one observed the moment that a young boy, of the race of those who had slain Aerizel, entered the Underground. Very few paid attention to him as he made his way through the kingdom. Even among the many monsters whom he befriended, the boy was little more than a curious visitor passing through their towns. None of them perceived that he had been joined by the spirit of a long-dead girl, who had awoken in great confusion, guilt, and fear, and now served both as a guide to the boy and a student of his morality.

Then one day, a long-disused bedroom door opened.

The weary, disheveled human boy in filthy clothes stood in the doorway. He remained there for a moment, looking at the dust-covered objects in the room and taking in the stale, musty odor that lingered in the air. Then he slowly walked in and began to examine the room's abandoned contents – the neglected toys, the moldering coverings on the beds, the disused bookcase, the dark lamp, the dresser, the wardrobe, the single picture on the wall, the desk.

In time, he stopped at the bed that had last held the body of the human girl. Testing the support of the mattress, he sat down on it and looked over to the other bed on the opposite wall. His eyes began to glisten, as if invisible whispers were telling him about the light and joy that had once filled the room. Before long tears were falling freely down his face. For several moments the boy wept quietly over the injustice that had struck down the innocent, a tragedy which he somehow knew had begun in this very room. But before long, his tear-streaked face changed. His jaw tightened, and the lines of his mouth hardened. He clenched his fists, and a fierce resolve came into his wet eyes. For a split-second, the room lit up with a golden starburst of fire that seemed to emanate from the very heart of the boy, but it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

He stood up, wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his stained shirt, and walked over to the two giftwrapped boxes on the floor. Opening the first one, he picked up and examined the dull dagger it contained for a few moments, before gently putting it back and replacing the lid. He had no need for it. Once he opened the other box, he carefully drew out the golden locket with an inscription on it. He held it up by its delicate chain, allowing the light from the hallway to glint off it, as he considered what to do. Finally, he came to a decision. He carefully wound the chain around the locket and placed it in his pocket. He would carry it with him, but he would not wear it. It belonged to someone else.

The boy turned and left the room, closing the door, again consigning it to darkness. And yet something in the room seemed to be different now. The boy had left an unseen light behind. Even the air itself seemed to be charged with an anticipation that had not been present for years.

And now, the exploits of a remarkable child began to be meticulously chronicled in two separate but parallel histories. The monsters of the Underground, now aware that the child was a human, saw the imminent fulfilment of their longing hopes and wildest dreams. They prepared for their king to break the barrier with the power of the soul that he would tear from the boy. And when the barrier was indeed shattered, their joy and wonderment was compounded when the boy himself, flanked by the smiling king and the former queen and many others who now called themselves his friends, led the parade of monsters out of the Underground and down to the green valley at the foot of the mountain where their bright future would begin.


	9. Chapter 9: Memories

If anything, the bedroom was now quieter than ever. At least before, there was the regular sound of heavy, padded feet walking past the door. Now even that was gone. It was an empty room in an empty house in an empty city. It had taken some time, but everyone in the Underground had at last left their mountainous prison in hopes of finding a peaceful life of freedom beyond.

Almost everyone.

There was a scraping sound as a loose floorboard was pushed to one side. The last visitor to the room had obligingly pried up a small board in the back corner months earlier, right next to the spot where a very tall stone pot now stood. It was filled with rich soil, but was otherwise empty. Anyone standing in the darkened room would have had a difficult time discerning the form of the floral creature whose poked its head up through the hole in the floor. Tendrils emerged beside it, grasping the side of the pot and pulling the amorphous mass upwards. Eventually the spindly creature heaved its entire body (if it could be called a body) over the top edge of the pot, where the tendrils sank themselves deep into the dirt. The creature gave a soft sigh and settled itself on the soil. It turned towards the empty bed on the far side of the room.

"Hi, Chara," came a subdued, high-pitched voice. "Guess it's been kind of a long time since we talked. I'm sorry I haven't been by much lately. Now that everyone's gone, there's a lot more left for me to take care of by myself. You know how dad was with his garden, right? Never a single weed, always planting something, or pruning, or watering. But now that he's gone, I gotta do it all myself. And I was never as good a gardener as dad." He laughed dryly. "But I think the garden still looks pretty good. The golden flowers seem to be doing OK." There was a pause. "Though really... I-I'm not sure why I'm doing it. It… it doesn't really make much sense, does it? I mean, it's not like anybody's ever coming back to look at it, right?"

Silence again. The figure in the pot swayed back and forth.

"But, you gotta keep busy somehow, right? And hey, I've got the whole underground kingdom to myself, now! Does that make me the king? King Asriel – that sounds kinda cool."

"Except," the voice went on after a moment. "…except there's nothing to do. There's nobody here to rule. I'm the king of nothing. I'm the ruler of empty cities. I can't talk to anybody. There's... nobody to play with."

The flower began sniffling.

"The only one who still comes around is Frisk. Did I tell you he's been coming back now and then, Chara? I'm… not sure how I feel about that, to be honest." A few tendrils wrapped themselves around the small creature. "For a little while he saw what I really looked li-I mean... what I used to look like. And I asked him not to come back. I-I didn't want him to see me like this. But I guess once Frisk decides he's going to be your friend, you can't really stop him, ha ha. And… and I guess I'm glad when he comes."

The creature gave a soft sigh.

"Oh, did I tell you that he's living with mom and dad now? Yeah, apparently he didn't have anywhere else to go, and so he went to live with them. I'm... I'm really happy for him".

The words did not match the uncertainty in the creature's voice.

"I mean, really, I am! He's got the best mom and dad in the world now! I just wish… I just wish that I-". The creature sniffled. "I wish that _both_ of us, Chara-".

The voice broke off, and the flowery head drooped.

"He says I should come with him. Frisk says that mom and dad would be happy to have me in the house, and he said that he... he wouldn't tell them anything. About who I am, I mean. Not until I'm ready to tell them myself. But the thing is, Chara... I don't think I could stand it. I don't think I could live there with mom and dad and not have them know who I am... but I don't want to tell them either! I feel so _guilty_, Chara! All those things I did... how could I ever tell them? How could they ever forgive me?"

The figure shook its head. Two tendrils reached up to rub its face.

"I can hear you now, Chara. You'd be telling me "big flowers don't cry!" Ha! I..." He let out a heavy sigh. "I used to hate it when you'd tell me to stop crying. I didn't _want_ to cry, but I couldn't help it. I kept wishing you stop bugging me about it. And now... now I really wish I could hear you saying it."

The voice began to crack.

"Oh Chara, I wish you were here! I miss you s-s-so much. Frisk is great and all, but he's not _you!_ I could always talk to you, and play with you, and make up stories and adventures with you. And now you're gone, and I'm like this." The voice took on a tone of frustration and anguish. "What happened to us, Chara? How did everything go so wrong?"

The sniffling grew louder. The figure in the pot drooped.

"It was my fault, wasn't it? Everything was working until we got to the village, and we put your body on the ground. I didn't have time to start healing you before we were attacked. If I had just moved quicker, we might have made it! I could have grabbed your body and run somewhere and healed you. Even if I had still died, I would have had time to put your soul back and you'd be alive now! But I was stupid, Chara. I'm sorry!" The flower was trembling, hugging itself with its tendrils. "All I could think of was getting back to mom and dad. And so instead of healing you, I ran back home... and then we both died. I'm so sorry, Chara! I'm sorry I couldn't s-save you."

For a while, the creature was silent except for its ragged, hitched breathing.

"I still just don't understand what happened to us down there. Why did you hate those villagers? I know it was my fault for not running away, but why did you want to kill everyone? I could feel you inside me! I could feel you trying to push all your soul power out through me to blast everyone. I couldn't move because I was trying to hold you back. Why did you do it, Chara? Why did you want to kill them?"

There was another pause, then a short laugh.

"You know, I haven't really thought about that day recently. Which is funny, because I _used_ to think about it all the time after I woke up like... like this. And I was so confused for so long! My mind didn't work right anymore. My feelings and emotions were all jumbled up and... I dunno, _wrong._ I couldn't feel any love, not even for mom and dad. I-I didn't feel like I was really me. Does that even make sense? I just couldn't think straight. And I couldn't understand why you'd done it. Why you tried to kill them all. The only thing that I could figure was that you were right about humanity after all. That if we _didn't_ kill them, they would kill us."

The creature gave a small sigh.

"But ever since Frisk rescued me, I feel like my mind is working again. I have feelings now that I haven't had in a long time. I can remember things better now. And now that I think back to that day in the village... it's funny, but I feel like I can remember your thoughts and emotions better now. I can remember what you felt like when you were trying to attack everyone, all that rage inside you-"

The voice abruptly stopped. The drooping creature snapped back upright.

"Wait... wait a minute. Were you trying...?"

He let out a gasp.

"Oh, Chara! Why didn't you tell me?"

For several minutes the flower remained rigid, unspeaking and unmoving. Then the sound of sniffling and soft crying began to fill the room. Tendrils broke through the dirt and began to stream down the sides of the pot.

"Chara, I... I'm gonna have to leave. This... this... I can't..."

The creature streamed its way down the pot and over to the hole in the floor, where it plunged downward and disappeared.


	10. Chapter 10: Unfinished Business

Some months later, the human boy who had freed the imprisoned monsters returned to the mountain. He paused at the cave opening, straining his eyes to see as far into the underground chamber that the early morning sun would allow. The hike up the mountain had taken some time, and he still had a very long way to go. The enigmatic Riverperson, still traveling the underground river, would help speed his journey. But with the towns and villages empty, there would be no one else to assist him along his way. The ruined monster city far to the west, and the one other monster who remained Underground, were a long way off. But that was hardly an obstacle to the boy whose fierce determination was matched by his almost giddy excitement. His plans had been long in the making, and today was going to be monumental. Today would be the day that the other great compendium of history, thought to have been abandoned forever, would be resumed.

He tightened the straps on his backpack and resolutely strode into the Underground. He passed through the castle, through the abandoned royal home, out of the massive capital city, through the volcanic regions and swamplands, all the way back to the perpetually frozen wastes far to the west, until he finally arrived at the ruined city. The massive doors that had once shut everyone out were now thrown wide open. He passed through them and traveled the remaining distance to a small, rocky grotto at the far edge of the mountain, where a lush spot deep beneath a small cave opening marked the place where he had fallen into the Underground kingdom long before.

When he passed back through the massive granite doors some time later, he was no longer alone.

And when, many hours later, the boy stepped out alone from the cave and into the surface world now bathed by the late afternoon sun, he was grinning so hard that his face hurt. He walked over the edge of the bluff overlooking the town far below him and sat down. Pulling off his backpack, he settled himself on the rocky ledge, legs dangling over the edge, enjoying the vista before him with immense satisfaction. After a while he opened the pack and fished around until he found a granola bar, which he began munching on. He found a rock to lean against and adjusted himself to get more comfortable. He knew he might have to wait there a while. There was still unfinished business left in the Underground. But he also knew that he would not be going back down the mountain alone. For now, he was simply content to rest with a full heart and anticipate the joy that was yet to come when he got back home. He could hardly wait to see the look on his parents' faces.

And deep under the mountain, not far from where the boy rested, a door opened. For a moment the light framed two silhouettes that stood motionless in the doorway. Then, two long-dead children who could not possibly, _possibly_ be alive stepped into their old bedroom.


	11. Chapter 11: The Decision

For a moment the two of them looked around, in wonder and disbelief that they were actually standing there. Then they began to move among their possessions. The box of toys and collection of stuffed animals were scooped up to be transported to a new home. Books were collected. Favorite outfits from the wardrobe were lifted out. And a set of furry paws pulled open the center desk drawer and carefully retrieved the large stack of brightly decorated sheets it contained. A short time later a pair of delicate human hands shakily slid open another drawer in the desk and frantically felt its underside, then relaxed as they found and pulled out a letter that had still been taped there, undiscovered and unopened.

And yet, the contents of the letter still had to be dealt with. The girl knew that. Though the plan had gone badly wrong, the truth of what she had intended the boy to learn after her death still needed to be confessed. She could not allow him to live in such ignorance about the nature of human death. Though she desperately wished there was another way, the boy had to be told that there had been no chance he could have restored her to life once they were through the barrier. She had expected her brother to hate her when he learned the truth, but she had also intended to be dead and beyond the reach of that hatred by the time it came out. But now, everything had changed. And although it would cost her greatly, although he would hate her for her deception, and although it would almost certainly mean losing the only brother and parents she had ever known, she had to tell him. He deserved to know the truth. The outrageous lie had to be confessed.

But it could not be confessed in a letter now, with the author safely beyond criticism. Instead it was confessed in person, by a tearful, self-loathing girl who sat on her old bed, unable to look at the crying monster child sitting opposite her. She had to listen with her own ears to his cries of disbelief and betrayal when she told him. She sat defenseless as he wept, painfully aware how feeble and inadequate her apologies were. And when he begged through tears to know why she had done it, she had nothing to give him but her own stupid, _stupid_ explanations that had seemed so noble and selfless to her years before, but now could be recognized as the ill-advised, shortsighted and idiotic plans they really were.

How long had they sat there, since the last of her halting, useless explanations had trailed off and the two of them had fallen into silence except for sniffling and quiet sobs? Was it half an hour? An hour? The girl looked over in misery at the boy who would no longer meet her eyes, his head down, hugging himself, still trembling. She could almost see him tracing the events backwards through time, one by one. He would not have died if he had not been attacked by the villagers. He would not have been attacked if he hadn't come through the barrier. He wouldn't have gone through the barrier if he hadn't had her soul. He would never have taken her soul unless she had lied to him to make him willing.

He died because of the plan Chara had convinced him to follow.

He died because of Chara coming into his family.

He died because of Chara.

He died.

It was all her fault.

Chara desperately wanted to rush out of that room, to get out of the Underground entirely, or else fall somewhere so deep and hidden that nobody would ever find her. She wished she was dead again. Anything that would stop the quiet sobs she was hearing from repeatedly stabbing her in the heart. But she couldn't leave. She was pinned to the bed, awaiting judgement. Awaiting her condemnation and dismissal. There was nothing for it but to sit there and let every stab of self-recrimination find its mark.

After a long time, a small voice spoke.

"Chara..."

A pause.

"Chara, I-I'm not sure I can say this right, but I'm just going to say it and hope that you understand."

The boy slowly lifted his head and stared at her.

"I-I guess I was wrong about you, Chara, all along."

The girl felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Tears came into her eyes again, but she blinked them back fiercely. After all, this had been expected. She had known, and perhaps had even planned that they boy would hate her and reject her so that he could leave her memory in the Underground and start a new life on the surface. She had just intended to be dead when it happened. But at least this part of the plan – she swallowed a bitter smile – this part was going perfectly.

She just hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did.

But of course it was going to hurt, wasn't it? Chara was no stranger to cruel words being flung at her. She had learned long ago to harden her heart against verbal abuse. But these soft words were infinitely more painful coming from Asriel. The boy who had been her brother, who had always been so kind before, so enthusiastic, so welcoming, so overflowing with affection. He had never said anything this hurtful to her before.

But this was what was best. This was _right_. He was cutting ties with her. He was ready to move on.

So there would be no blubbering on her part. She would make it as easy as possible for him to let go. This would be her last gift to him.

She stood up and pulled herself together as best she could. "That's right, Asriel. You were wrong." Her voice didn't seem to be working properly, but she forced herself to keep it steady. "I told you once that there weren't any good humans, but you didn't believe me. You seemed to think I might be an exception to that." The girl's smile was tight and trembled at the corners. "And for a while… for a while we had a good time together, you and me. But now you know. Now you know what kind of a person I am." The smile began to fall apart. "I'm just like every other human. I tell lies, and I hurt people. And in the end, I was a terrible friend to you." The tears could no longer be blinked back, and the girl brushed them forcefully away. "But thank you for all you did for me, Asriel. And please tell your mother and father that I am grateful they were so kind to me for such a long time." She turned and walked towards the doorway. "I'm going to go now. I hope that you'll-"

"Chara, w-what are you talking about?"

The girl turned. The boy on the bed was looking at her, a confused expression on his face.

"Where are you going?"

The girl hesitated. "I... I don't know yet. I'm sure I'll find somewhere to live. It's been a long time since I was down in-"

"_WHAT?_ Why… why are you leaving me, Chara?"

Was there rising panic in the boy's voice? It was the girl's turn to look bewildered.

"Asriel... you just told me that you figured out how wrong you were about me. I lied to you, and I tricked you into doing something you didn't want to do. I got you killed! I don't blame you at all for hating me; that's exactl-"

"_NO!_ Chara, no, no, that's not what I meant! That's not what I meant at all!" The boy's voice was shrill, and his eyes were wide open now, filled with a mixture of horror and pleading.

The girl stood there, dumbstruck. "I…I don't understand, Ree."

The boy stood up and took a step towards her. "I knew this would come out wrong! I'm sorry! Let me try again." He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, trying to find the right words.

"Chara, after I died and woke up as a flower, I thought that I had ruined everything. I told myself that I should have listened to you when you wanted me to... you know, down in the village when you were trying to..." The boy looked at the girl helplessly.

In spite of her confusion, she nodded.

"I didn't do it. And then we both died. And when I woke up, I hated myself, and I got so confused and… well…" The boy swallowed. "I didn't know it at the time, but I guess you were still able to see all the things I did after that... when I was Flowey, I mean. Right?"

"Yeah... for at least part of it, after Frisk came and I woke up myself."

The boy nodded miserably, "So, yeah, I don't have to tell you about that part. But what I'm getting at, Chara, is that whatever Frisk did when he 'saved' me all those months ago... it changed something inside me. My feelings, my compassion, my sense of right and wrong – it all came back. And…" A crimson flush crept into the boy's furry cheeks, and he shifted his weight on his feet back and forth. "And I guess you probably heard what I said to Frisk about you, right?"

The girl hung her head. "That's what I was saying, Ree," she said heavily. "When you told Frisk I wasn't the greatest person, you were absolutely right. I'm a terrible person."

The boy waved his paws. "No, Chara! I'm trying to… ugh! I'm so bad at this!" His arms dropped to his side in frustration. "Can... can we sit back down?"

The girl stood uncertainly by the door, then slowly moved back and sat on her bed. The boy returned to the opposite bed and sat with head down, trying to find the right words to say. Chara waited quietly, still perplexed.

After a moment, Asriel started again.

"After Frisk left, I turned back into a flower like I knew I would. But even after that happened, something was different. I didn't want to destroy everything anymore. I didn't want to... kill anyone anymore. I was even happy that everyone was free."

He looked up. "Frisk even came back to visit a few times, before today. I had told him not to... I-I didn't want him to see what happened to me after he left. But I guess you know how he is – once he gets a thought into his head, there's no changing his mind," he said with a rueful grin. Chara mirrored it with a slight smile of her own.

"We talked a little about that last day – the day you and I went through the barrier and down to the village. And do you know what I told him my greatest regret was, Chara?" Asriel looked back up. "It was that I died before I could heal you. That I ran back up the mountain and ended up killing us both instead of finding some safe place where I could heal you and get your soul back into you. And Frisk got this funny look in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. And now... I guess I know what he was thinking."

Chara stiffened. Yet another apology began to form on her trembling lips, but Asriel went on before she could speak.

"But there's more. I realized that I was able to think about what had happened that day in the village without being so confused."

He leaned forward, now more earnest.

"Chara, when I told Frisk you… weren't a good person, it was because I thought you wanted to kill all those people the moment we got to the village, because you hated humanity so much. But then I remembered something I had forgotten when my mind was all messed up. In fact," he glanced over at the large stone pot sitting in the corner, "I remembered it while I was sitting right over there, not long ago." He fixed his eyes on Chara. "You _didn't_ try to attack them right away, did you? We went into the village, and you put your own body down in the flower bed, and then after that... you only tried to use our power after the villagers started attacking. Right?"

This was not a memory the girl wanted to think about. But she accepted the pain as she envisioned the horrible scene once more. "I had never even intended to be there," she said quietly. "When you absorbed my soul, I just thought you'd get enough power to pass through the barrier. I didn't know that I would actually be _alive_ inside you. And once we were down there, I could feel everything that you felt. I could feel what was happening to you after they started..." She choked on her words. "I couldn't stand it. I-I just wanted them to stop _hurting_ you, Ree!"

Asriel's eyes began to tear up again. "I know that now. I didn't understand before, but I do now. And Chara? I think I also understand now what you've been telling me. All those things you did years ago – with your plan, with the buttercups, with what you told me about putting your soul back in your body... you did all that because you thought it would be the best thing for me in the end. You knew you were going to die, and be gone forever, but you were willing to do it because you wanted me to be happy." His questioning eyes met hers. "Right?"

"Yes." This time the girl didn't bother forcing back the tears. "It was a terrible, stupid plan, Ree, I know that now. But I thought it would get you and your mom and dad and everyone out of the Underground. I wanted you to have a happy life out there. I-", She couldn't keep her voice from cracking. "I loved you, Ree, and I wanted you to be free and happy."

She had her head down, so she wasn't able to see the complex emotions that crossed the face of the boy across from her. There was silence for a few moments. Then,

"Chara, that is the sweetest and the most stupid thing you have ever said to me."

The girl's head snapped up. The boy somehow managed to look at her with affection and exasperation at the same time.

"Why on _earth_ would you think that I would be OK with you dying so that we could get out of the Underground?" He began to wave his arms in agitation. "Did you think it would be a happy ending for me to lose my _sister_ ? And my best friend? Where did you get such a _dumb_ idea?"

The girl was having a hard time absorbing his words. This was not going the way she had expected. "But, Ree, I knew how much you wanted to rescue everyone and get to the surface. All those stories..."

"But not without **YOU**, Chara!" Asriel took hold of the locket that was hanging around his neck. "What does this say?"

And without waiting for an answer, he stood up and stomped over to the stunned girl. He leaned down and held the locket in front of her face. "Tell me what this says!" he demanded. "Read it!"

"Uh – 'Best Friends Forever'"

"That's right! And that's what yours says, too!" He pointed to the locket that was resting over the girl's shirt. "And it's true, Chara!" His sharp tone disappeared, and a look of pleading came into his eyes. "You're my best friend, and you _always will be_. Having you die so that we could be free wouldn't have been a happy ending! It would have been awful! Why in the _world_ did you think mom or dad or I would ever want that?

And then, with perfect clarity, Chara suddenly realized how badly she had misjudged everything. Why _had_ she thought the Dreemurrs would want that? What had made her think that the three monsters who had adopted her into their home would be glad to trade her life for their freedom? There was a simple answer to that – an assumption that had always guided what Chara did while she lived with the Dreemurrs. An assumption that had turned out to be completely wrong.

"Because I didn't think you'd miss me if I was gone," she whispered. "No one has ever wanted me."

Asriel's jaw fell open and his eyes widened. Chara's head dropped. "I thought you'd be sad for a little while, but that eventually you'd forget about me. Everyone has always wanted to get rid of me as soon as they could. You and your mom and dad were nicer to me than anyone else had ever been, but I figured it was just out of pity. And that it was temporary. That the only reason you hadn't sent me away was because you had nowhere to go yourselves. And when I figured out what I could do to set you free... I guess I just assumed you'd be happy if I was gone, just like everyone else."

The boy was still in shock, his eyes watery. "But... but Chara – you're my _sister_!" he stammered. "I would rather have stayed underground for a hundred years with you here than to be on the surface and have you gone!" His lips were quivering, and he appeared to be trying to say more. But instead, he threw his arms around her, and Chara felt herself being squeezed tightly with his furry head resting on her shoulder. No further words were necessary. As her own tears began to fall freely, Chara slowly wrapped her arms around him, loosely at first, then tightly.

For a few moments the two siblings stood there, holding onto each other. At last, Asriel pulled back to look Chara in the eye, his arms on her shoulders.

"Chara, what I was trying to say was that I was wrong about you for a long time. I thought you hated me because I couldn't heal you at the village. I thought you were angry with me because I hadn't killed the villagers and taken their souls. And I thought that you had wanted to kill them yourself because... you were a bad person who hated humanity so much, you didn't care who got killed. But I was wrong! I didn't realize…" They boy's eyes were glistening again. "I didn't realize you had done all those things because you loved me and were trying to help me the best way you knew how."

The girl had no idea how such a strong mixture of sadness, relief and joy could be inside her at the same time. It made it difficult to even form words.

"Ree… Ree, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything! Can… can you please forgive me for being so stupid?"

The boy began to sniffle again.

"It's OK, Chara. I know you meant well, and-"

"_NO_, Ree!" He stopped, surprised. "It's _not_ OK. What I did was terrible, and idiotic, and... and I didn't know what I was doing. Please... don't just tell me it's OK. Don't tell me that it didn't hurt you, because I know it did. Just... can you please just tell me if you forgive me?"

The boy's glistening eyes met the girl's. "Yes! Yes, Chara! I forgive you. For everything! It's OK now."

"Thank you." A watery but broad smile managed to come through her tears. "_Thank you_, Ree." She took a series of shuddering breaths. For several moments Chara sat with her head down, struggling to get herself under control.

"Hey, Chara?"

She looked up. The boy in front of her was grinning playfully.

"Big kids don't cry, you know."

With a snort, Chara grabbed the pillow that sat on top of the comforter and swung it at her brother. The squawk he gave when the pillow connected with his head gave her great satisfaction, but the dust cloud that immediately erupted sent both children into a coughing fit that ended the battle immediately. It took a few more moments before either of them was able to speak again.

"Well," Chara gestured around her, "I suppose we should probably finish packing up the stuff here so we can get it down the mountain."

Asriel's eyes were bright. "So that means you're not going to leave me, right? You're still going live with us?"

The girl shrugged, a small smile on her face. "Well, if you still want me as your sister, then I guess I wi-"

Her words were cut off by a bleat of joy and a pair of arms that enveloped her in a hug that almost toppled the two of them over. A furry head buried itself into her shoulder, one long ear resting over her nose and mouth.

"Of course I want you as my sister! I love you, Chara! I don't ever want to lose you again!"

The girl wrapped her own arms around the boy. And then instinctively, she squeezed him tighter than she could ever remember.

"I love you too, Ree."


	12. Chapter 12: Mended

"Frisk… I'm still not sure this is a good idea." Chara's voice shook a bit.

The last of the sun's rays were fading, and the purple and golden sky was darkening into deep blue and grey. It had been another long hike for Frisk, but he had practically floated down the mountain path, talking to his two companions, listening to them as they caught up with each other, and grinning almost the whole way. Mount Ebott loomed large behind the city as the three children made their way along the sidewalk towards the Dreemurrs' home. The temperature had steadily grown cooler, but Frisk had remembered to pack a sweatshirt, and the other two had found jackets among their belongings in New Home. Frisk had convinced Asriel to put on a hoodie so that he wouldn't be recognized walking through the town. It wasn't hard - he only had to suggest that Asriel "wear a disguise" before the boy enthusiastically agreed.

"C'mon, it's going to be awesome! I already told them I was going to be bringing a surprise back tonight, so they're going to be expecting something. They just don't know it's going to be the best surprise ever!"

"Yeah! I can't wait!" Asriel's eyes were shining. He had gotten progressively more excited during the hike.

Chara's usual calm demeanor, however, was giving way to nervous twitches the closer they got to the house.

"Yeah, I guess, and… I guess I've lived there long enough to hear them talk about me and Ree, so I-"

"Oh, yeah, you were a ghost in the house with Frisk! Cool, I forgot about that!" interrupted Asriel. "Did it feel like, you know, you were haunting it? Oh! And what did mom and dad say about us? Do they miss us!"

"Of _course_ they miss us, Ree!" Chara shot him a sardonic look. But her brow quickly shifted back to worry. "At least… they miss you. Sometimes I can tell it's hard for them to talk about it, but they really, really miss you."

"Chara, they miss _both_ of you – you know that! You've heard them talk about you just about every time they talk about Asriel! Don't go thinking they forgot about you."

"Yeah, we've already gone over all that, Chara!" Asriel bumped his shoulder into her. "You're part of the family, and mom and dad are going to be glad to see both of us!"

"Mmmph. Well… thanks. Maybe you're right." Chara sounded unconvinced.

Frisk pointed. "Look, our house is just up there."

Asriel looked. The street they were on ended in a cul-de-sac. The yards in the neighborhood were sizeable, with a lot of space between the houses and woods running behind the properties. Even if Frisk hadn't been pointing to the large two-story house, it wouldn't have been hard to identify the Dreemurr home by the well-manicured lawn and startlingly ornate landscaping. The blinds had already been drawn, but lights could still be seen coming through the windows.

Frisk was so excited he could barely contain himself. "OK, you guys ready? We'll go up, and you go stand on the porch off to the side, and I'll knock, and then you can come out when they answer the door! OK"

"Yeah, sounds good!" Asriel balled up his paws enthusiastically.

Chara took a deep breath. "Ok. Whatever you think."

The three of them quietly made their way up the steps and over to the side next to a large porch swing. Suddenly, Frisk gave Chara a hug. "It's gonna be fine, sis! They're going to be so happy!"

Chara's arms hung down limply, but she gave a small smile. "Ok. I trust you, Frisk. And… you know… thanks for calling me-"

"Yep!" Frisk released her and gave them both a thumbs up. He stepped towards the door and tried to wipe the smile off his face and look as nonchalant as possible as he knocked. Chara and Asriel ducked into the darkness as much as they could.

"Coming!" came a soft voice from inside the house. A moment later the door opened. Chara heard a sharp intake of breath from the boy beside her as Toriel appeared in the doorway, holding a spatula. "Hello- why, Frisk! You are back! Did you have a good time today? And why were you knocking? I left the door unlocked for you."

"Hi, mom." Even from her hiding spot several steps away, Chara could tell that Frisk was terrible at hiding smiles. "I brought back the surprise from the Underground I told you about, and I wanted you to come and see it. But you have to close your eyes first!"

"Oh, I am glad your trip went well, dear! I can't imagine what you found there that would be a surprise, but I am ready for it!"

"Ok, close your eyes!"

Toriel dutifully did so, smiling quietly and folding her hands. Frisk, whose grin was fully back in place now, gestured to the others. As quietly as they could, they tiptoed and padded their way to him. Asriel pushed his hood back and pulled his ears free.

"Don't look, mom!"

"I am not looking, my child!" she laughed lightly.

Frisk motioned for Chara to stand at his right side, and Asriel sidled up to his left. He reached out to both of them, and all three joined hands. Frisk took a deep breath.

"Ok, mom – open your eyes!"

Still smiling, Toriel's eyes fluttered open and went down to Frisk. And them immediately to his left. The smile dropped off her face, and her eyes grew wide. And then her eyes darted to the other side. Her mouth fell open uselessly.

All three children looked up at her, joy and anxiety mixed in their faces. "Surprise, mom!" said Frisk.

Toriel appeared to be in a state of shock. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as they darted left and right. "A—asr—?" was all she could manage to get out. "How-". Then "C-c-cha?"

"H-hi, mom!" Asriel raised a tentative paw.

There was a clatter as Toriel dropped the spatula. Instinctively she reached out to grab the doorframe as she staggered backwards, her other hand going to her chest. Her mouth still hung open, and her eyes were still locked onto the figures in front of her. She appeared to be trying to form words, but nothing would come out.

"Tori? Is everything OK out there?"

There was the sound of heavy footsteps moving quickly towards the door. "Is Frisk alright? Are you-"

The bulk of Asgore came into view, just in time to catch Toriel who was beginning to slide down the doorframe. "Tori!"

His eyes registered Frisk first. "Frisk, what has-"

And then he froze completely.

For what seemed like an eternity, three children and two adults stared at each other.

"As-Asriel?" the king breathed out. _"Asriel?"_

The young prince stepped forward hesitantly. "Hi, dad! It's me!"

"_Asriel_?" This time it was Toriel. Her gaze turned once again. "And… and _Chara_? How… how can…?"

Chara didn't move from where she stood, now squeezing Frisk's hand with a death-grip. "Hello, m-mom."

"Chara! And… and…!" The king's voice had returned.

And suddenly the dam broke. Toriel dropped to her knees and flung her arms out. Asriel rushed forward to bury himself into her, and Chara's hesitation didn't prevent Asgore, now on the ground beside his wife, from enveloping her in his huge furry arm and pulling her in.

Frisk deftly stepped back, grinning so much that it hurt, as the names of his siblings began to pour from his parents over and over, interspersed with sobs, first from the king and queen, then from all four people intertwined in a single tight hug.

And as Chara heard their astonished cries and words tumbling down and felt her father's arms wrapped around her and her mother's disbelieving paws stroking her head and neck and shoulders, she found herself at a complete loss for words. So she said the only thing she could think of. The one thing she had desperately wanted to say for so long.

"Dad… mom… I'm sorry!"

The arms continued to hug her and the soft paw kept stroking her hair. "Chara! Asriel!" "I can't… I can't believe it!"

"I'm sorry, mom! I'm so sorry! Dad… I- I just- I'm sorry for everything! I'm so-"

"Shhh, Chara," came the deep voice above her. "You've come back! You've come back to us!"

"But dad, I was so wrong! It was all my fault that…" Chara could barely choke out the words through her own tears "it was all my fault… I'm sorry, I'm sor-"

"Oh, Chara – it doesn't matter now, my child! My dear child! My daughter has come back!"

And for the second time that day, Chara realized how badly she had misjudged the Dreemurrs. Her tears continued to flow freely, but at last her desperate, pleading apologies were silenced, and she was content to simply be held and rocked. She still had a family after all.

Frisk felt a slight bit of smug satisfaction at hearing "my daughter" over and over from both of his parents. He made a mental note to remind Chara that he had been right all along.

But any moment now he knew he'd be pulled back in to the happy reunion. Asriel's smiling, tear-streaked face was already finding him, begging him to come join the embrace. Frisk pulled out his phone and sent a quick message. Then he pointed the camera at the weeping, bewildered, unspeakably happy family kneeling in front of him. This picture would be a keeper.


	13. Chapter 13: The Heroes

The mid-afternoon sunlight streamed through the second-story bedroom window, painting the room in golden hues. The room was well furnished, tastefully decorated, and cheerful. The white wooden dresser held an array of clothes, and the closet was filled with shirts, pants, dresses and shoes. Several bookshelves lined the walls. A variety of toys filled other shelves and a toy chest in the corner. Other than the bed, which was currently being jumped on by a furry boy wearing a purple cape, the most prominent feature of the room was an extra-large desk with several drawers and room enough for two chairs. One chair was occupied by a girl with long auburn hair, who was bent over a sheet of paper she was working on. The other chair was being used sporadically, as its occupant kept leaving it in order to resume bouncing on the bed. A sewing machine had been pushed to the back of the desk in order to make room for the paper and a sizeable assortment of crayons, colored pencils, glitter pens and fine-tipped markers.

"So, when Togore gets the call," Asriel said excitedly as he went up and down, "he runs outside the restaurant and goes into the phone booth in order to change into Aerizel! And when he-"

"Why does Togore need a phone booth? And why is there even a phone booth in New Town?" Chara interrupted.

"Um…" The bouncing slowed for a minute. "I dunno - that's just how it works in that comic book mom let me get. Oh! Maybe it's because not all monsters have cell phones, so they need to use a phone booth to make calls!" The bouncing resumed. The locket that boy was wearing banged repeatedly into his chest.

Chara shook her head. "All right, whatever, I'll put in a little booth here next to the restaurant." Her pencil continued its work.

"And then, when he turns into Aerizel, the phone booth explodes because now he's huge and powerful! Bwoooosshhh!" The explosive sound effect was accompanied by wide arm motions to demonstrate the blast and a flying jump off the bed.

"Ugh!" Chara started erasing the rectangle she had begun. "Ok, fine, it's an _exploding_ phone booth now." The rectangle was replaced with a starburst and radiating lines of wreckage.

Asriel came over to inspect the progress, then resumed his thinking position on the bed. "And then Aerizel bursts out, and everyone points and says 'Look, it's Aerizel. He's come to save us! He's the strongest monster in the Caverns, and he's our hero!'"

"I'm not writing all that in, Ree," Chara muttered.

"And then, he uses his magic to fix the phone booth, and then he and his-"

"_What?"_ The girl put her pencil down and turned to glare at her brother. "Why he is _fixing_ the phone booth now? I just blew it up!"

Asriel's wide eyes were all innocence as he stopped bouncing. "Because if he doesn't fix it, then the people won't be able to make any calls!"

Chara stared at him for a moment, incredulous. Then she slowly turned back to the desk.

"Ok, you know what? Fine. I'll just add another panel with the _magically fixed phone booth_ back. And Ree, would you _please _get off my bed?! Mom is going to be mad if she finds you doing that!"

"Ok, just a minute!" (_bounce bounce bounce)_ "So, Aerizel's brother and sister come out of the restaurant too, and together they all fly to their base just outside the mountain. Then they get in their rocket car and start driving down to where the bad guys are!"

"I still don't understand why flying superheroes need a rocket car," Chara grumbled as she chose a different colored pencil. "That makes no sense."

"It's a magic car that's super big inside! It's got all the sensors and spy equipment they need to see what's going on. And it's also got a kitchen with food! And there's a TV where they can play video games while the car automatically drives itself to where they need to go, and it has bedrooms so they can sleep if it's a long trip and wake up when they get there!"

Chara lifted her head slightly, the pencil pausing in mid-air. Then she resumed her work. "I _guess_ that's sort of cool."

A child with an untidy mop of hair chose that moment to poke his head into the room. "Hey guys, MK and his sister and parents are here, and he brought his laser tag set!"

"Oh, cool!" said Asriel as he took a flying leap off the bed.

"I'm a monster!" announced Chara, putting her pencil down.

"Oh! Then I wanna be a monster too! Me and Chara are monsters!" Asriel added enthusiastically.

The boy in the doorway sighed heavily, a sound of exasperation that was clearly not in keeping with his grin. "You guys are _always_ the monsters. Ok fine, but that means me, Mike, and Missy are going to be the humans."

"Come on, Frisk, that's not fair!" Chara's crimson eyes glared at him. "It's two against three and they can aim better with their tails than either of us can with our hands!"

"Tough beans!" Frisk said, still grinning. "But we'll switch it up after a while. Come on!" He turned and thumped his way down the stairs.

"Come on, Chara! Let's show them what Aerizel and Ky-Ra can do!" Asriel said excitedly. "Oh! Get your cape too!"

"Ok, I'll be right there."

Asriel took off after his brother while Chara slid out of her chair and hurried over to the dresser. Fumbling through one of the drawers, she at last pulled out a long purple cape identical to the one her brother was wearing. Fastening it around her neck, she carefully tucked the golden locket she was wearing under her shirt collar, then ran out the door and down the stairs.

* * *

The bedroom is silent and empty now. But only for a while. The toys, books, clothes, and other things in the room wait patiently for their owner to return. The bed, neatly made earlier that morning but now a rumpled mess, will be the focus of further bouncing and related complaints before too long. When drawings are done, books will be read, or games will be played, or a new sewing project will be started. The room will be lively again very soon.

Sounds begin to drift in through the window from the backyard. On the patio below the bedroom, four adult monsters are gathered around a table, sipping lemonade, talking with each other, and occasionally watching squealing children running around and firing plastic guns at each other. One human in purple and blue lies dead in a heap on the ground, which doesn't stop him from laughing and watching his teammates. Two lizard children are trying to use their parents as monster shields, their tails snaking out to take shots at the human girl, who is unable to shoot back effectively because her other brother, resplendent in green and yellow with his cape flying, keeps jumping in front of her in order to protect her and return fire.

As the yelling and electronic blaster sounds continue to float upwards, the sun's warm rays fall on the desk in the bedroom where the unfinished comic strip lies. In another day or two it will be finished. Then, after it has been read by the rest of the family, it will either be added to a collection of adventures in a folder in the desk, or it may, if it is particularly exciting, join a large collection of pictures that are taped to the wall by the desk, or perhaps join the pictures on the walls in the bedroom next door. The progression of pictures on the wall from left to right shows a wide variety of quality and gives evidence of multiple artists as the stories progress, though they all share a common theme.

But of all the drawings, only one of them framed. It holds the most honored spot of all the illustrated adventures, hanging in the center of the wall, directly over the desk. The subjects of the drawing are the same as the ones in the other pictures around it, so a casual observer might not realize that the framed picture depicts the focal point of the Caverns' history.

It is a crayon drawing of a powerful winged monster firing a huge blast of energy at a shimmering wall in front of him, which is shattering into pieces. On either side of him, drawn in more detail by a different hand, a girl with long auburn hair and a tousle-headed boy are flying next to the monster. Their arms are held out towards him, and waves of power are pulsing from the bright red hearts on their chests into the glowing white, inverted heart of the immense figure beside them. On the ground all around the three heroes are dozens of figures, arms raised in jubilation. Two of them, a man and woman both in purple, stand closest to the heroes, smiling broadly.

The illustrated history continues to the right of the framed picture, although it appears drawings have not been added to the wall as frequently as they once were in another house long ago. The pictures here show signs of greater quality, the result of collaboration between two or three artists. Many of the drawings now depict the heroes under a blue sky rather than in a grey and gloomy world.

And if the compendium of adventures doesn't receive additions quite as frequently as it used to, perhaps it's only because the historians are too busy. Those who chronicled the events of the Caverns, who themselves were once confined in shadows with little more than hopes and dreams to sustain them, are now free. To be sure, there will be many more adventures in the Caverns and beyond. There will always be enemies to stop, new places to explore, and endless adventures for Aerizel and his siblings, Princess Ky-Ra and Prince Fahrask. But if those tales are not documented quite as often as before, it's only because the three young, inseparable historians are simply too busy exploring their own wide-open world and finding new adventures every day.

* * *

This chapter brings our story to an end. Thank you very much for reading it!

The next and final chapter is entirely optional and simply provides some behind-the-scenes details about my headcanon and the decisions that went into the narrative.

I really enjoyed writing this story, and if it brought you any happiness then I'm very glad. Please consider leaving a review! I'd be happy to read any thoughts you may have. And if you liked this tale, perhaps you'll enjoy Better Than New, another short story I wrote about the Dreemurr family.


	14. (BONUS) Author's Commentary

Thank you for reading this story!

This final "chapter" is not so much a chapter as it is simply a place to talk about some of my headcanon that went into making the story.

_Chara's character_

Most of the early fandom portrayed Chara as a murderous psychopath. Fortunately, that has given way to a more nuanced view of the character. Fan art, however, hasn't fully caught up. It's not uncommon to still see kindhearted Frisk with a stick standing next to a grinning, demon-eyed Chara holding a blood-red knife. In contrast to that, my stories mostly follow the Chara-as-narrator model. Chara is a girl somewhere between 10-12 who has been emotionally scarred in the past and harbors deep anger towards people of all kinds. (How deep, or how long she holds to that universal hatred, is another question.) But after her spirit is attached to Frisk throughout the events of Undertale, she learns from his kindness, compassion, and morality and begins to heal emotionally. By the time she is resurrected (and even more so by the time we get to the events of _Better Than New, _the next story in this series), she is in a much better place mentally.

_Chara's mindset_

A reader asked some very good questions: why would Chara conceive of her plan in the first place? And why in the world would she think that the Dreemurrs (Asriel in particular) would be willing to accept her death in exchange for their freedom? It's clear to the reader how misguided Chara is, but unfortunately she doesn't see it that way, for several reasons.

First, although Chara is quite bright, she's still only a child. She's told herself a story and is enamored with the happy ending it will bring without fully thinking through the consequences.

Second, and far more seriously, Chara has never been with people who really, truly wanted her. She has only ever experienced outright rejection, or family situations that allowed her to think that maybe she had found a true home, only to have it ripped away from her. Her defenses and emotional walls are fully in place now. She knows the Dreemurrs have been very kind to her, but she is sure it's only a matter of time before they grow tired of her, like everyone always has. She won't allow herself to hope that the happy times she has with them are permanent. Sooner or later, they'll want to be rid of her.

(This is no doubt compounded by the fact that, canonically in the game, Chara accidentally poisoned Asgore. Though they forgave her, it only reinforced her belief that she didn't belong with them, and they wouldn't put up her for long.)

But she can't help but love them, Asriel especially. Which is where the third factor comes in: Chara knows she has the key to their freedom. It's clear from the plaques in Waterfall, the longing whispers from the Echo flowers, and even the wistful things her adopted parents and brother say that their greatest dream is to one day leave the underground... and Chara knows she's the only one who can make it happen. She's quite certain that they wouldn't ask her to sacrifice herself (Asriel certainly wouldn't, and she's almost certain neither Toriel or Asgore would either), but she's also convinced that if she does, then in a year or so she will just be a distant memory to them. Maybe even a hero and martyr in their eyes! Better that than to be abandoned once again, which she's sure is inevitable.

All those mistaken premises lead to a decision that seems entirely logical to her - noble, even.

_Asriel's role in Chara's plan_

It seems very strange in the Undertale storyline that Asriel would participate in Chara's plan to die, even going so far as to help fetch the buttercups. Why would he do that? He clearly loves his sibling – how could Chara possibly convince him to go through with the plan? I am unwilling to accept that Asriel would willingly allow Chara to die, even if it broke the barrier and freed all the monsters. No matter how much Chara demanded, pleaded, cajoled, or mocked him, he would still tearfully refuse. Asriel may be tender-hearted, but he's not that big of a pushover.

The only way he would go through with it is if he didn't think that Chara would actually die. And given his trusting nature, combined with the great deal of ignorance monsters had about humans, Chara was able to sell her whopper of a lie to Asriel. She told him her "death" wouldn't be permanent. Ordinarily it would be (she told him), since her poisoned body would be unable to support her soul, but as a boss Monster, Asriel would be in a unique position to absorb her soul and keep it safe. Once they were through the barrier, she assured him, Asriel would be able to remove the poison within her body, then restore her soul. Convinced by the lie, Asriel was finally willing to go through with it.

_Asriel's transformation after absorbing Chara's soul_

Another common theme in fan art is to assume that, once he absorbed Chara's soul, Asriel took on the same adult form that we see during his fight with Frisk. But that's not necessarily true. It took the power of six human souls plus the souls of almost every monster for Flowey to achieve that form. I think it's more likely that Asriel+Chara took on the appearance described by the plaques in Waterfall: "a strange creature", "a horrible beast with unfathomable power," something "very unsettling." In addition, although it does not excuse the human villagers for what they did, it is more understandable that fear might cause them to attack a monster that looked truly terrifying, rather than a noble monster prince wearing royal robes, as he is usually depicted when he carries Chara's body to the village.

_Flowey's character post-SAVE_

What was Flowey like after he transformed into Asriel, was SAVED by Frisk, said his goodbyes, and transformed back into Flowey? Did he go back to being the same compassionless Flowey he was before? I don't think so. At the end of the Pacifist route, Flowey doesn't even want the power of resetting any more. He's happy that monsters have returned to the surface, believing that "peace and prosperity will rule across the land". He practically _begs_ you to not reset, so that Frisk can live a happy life. It's clear that Flowey is not the same as he was. In this story, I assume that the effect of the SAVE on Flowey is permanent. His form reverts from Asriel to Flowey once he gives up the souls, but his compassion and morality are permanently restored.


End file.
